The intersection of technology and liberal arts has taken on a new approach at Apple's retail stores, where some locations are now doubling as public galleries to showcase art created with Apple hardware and software.

For its New Year's Fukubukuro "Lucky Bag 2015" promotion in Japan, Apple doled out big-ticket items like 11-inch MacBook Airs, iPads, iPods, Apple TVs, Beats headphones and more to buyers paying an entry fee of about $300.

While Apple continues to expand its highly successful retail presence, Samsung's own retail experiment appears to be floundering, as the South Korean electronics maker has closed its flagship store in one of Europe's largest malls.

Apple's plans to build a new Union Square retail store in San Francisco are finally getting started with the demolition of an existing building. Meanwhile, just down the street the company's current store is getting a holiday "Winter Walk" plaza treatment.

Brooklyn will reportedly become the third of New York City's five boroughs to house an Apple retail store, with the Cupertino company expected to open a 20,000 square foot outlet there in April of next year.

Apple on Thursday announced that it will collaborate with Seattle-based Code.org for the second year in a row, hosting the Hour of Code -- designed to introduce the basics of computer programming -- and other events at its retail stores.

Apple has expanded the selection of mobile photography accessories in its retail outlets with the Nova, a wireless, off-camera flash that can be used to enhance low-light shooting and synchronizes with iOS devices using Bluetooth technology.

A new "Apple Rewards" Visa card launched this month by Barclaycard with a number of changes, most notably a revised rewards system that pays out Apple Store gift cards, as well as the addition of Chip & PIN security.

Apple on Friday updated its Support website to incorporate an option to schedule Genius Bar reservations for certain hardware and software issues, further filling in gaps between AppleCare's many arms.

For the upcoming Black Friday shopping bonanza, many brick-and-mortar Apple Stores are slated to welcome the holiday crush at 8 a.m. and will again offer the same discounts and deals to online customers.

Proving an earlier rumor accurate, Apple on Friday removed Fitbit hardware accessories from its online store, narrowing the fitness-related devices offered by the company ahead of the Apple Watch launch.

Apple Stores will reportedly stop selling Fitbit products, which are not compatible with the HealthKit tools in iOS 8, as a new model with heart rate sensing capabilities is expected to hit the market soon.

In addition to a new permanent fixture in Manhattan, Amazon will be dabbling in the retail market with a pair of new temporary locations in San Francisco and Sacramento this holiday season to push sales of its hardware, the company has confirmed.

As a patent infringement suit filed by Bose against Beats looms, the longstanding retail partnership between Apple and Bose may be coming to an end, with a new report claiming that the premium audio products will be removed from Apple's retail locations.